


caterpillar soup

by Desolate_Smog



Series: small fics for the soul (writer's month 2020) [9]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Bugs & Insects, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders Needs a Hug, Dark Creativity | Remus Sanders is a Good Brother, Gen, Insecure Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Kid Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Trans Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:26:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25892068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Desolate_Smog/pseuds/Desolate_Smog
Summary: Remus wasn't the best person, but he'd bite off the arms of anybody that said he wasn't a good brother.Writer's Month 2020, Day 14 - metamorphosis
Relationships: Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders
Series: small fics for the soul (writer's month 2020) [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1859371
Comments: 14
Kudos: 100
Collections: Writer's Month 2020





	caterpillar soup

"Remus, Remus, look!" Alicia said, pointing at a plant. 

Remus walked over to his baby sister and ignored the urge to shove her over. "Whatcha got?" 

"The plant's got a earring!" 

Remus looked where Alicia was pointing and chuckled as he noticed the cocoon. "That's called a cocoon, princess." 

Alicia grinned at him for the royalty comment before getting sucked back in by the cocoon. "Hello cocoon." 

"You know what a cocoon is?" Remus asked as he sat down. 

"No what?" 

"It's where a caterpillar goes to become caterpillar soup before becoming a butterfly!" 

Alicia's nose screwed up. "Ew, that's gross." 

Remus pulled a shocked face. "What, you don't want to be caterpillar soup?" 

"No! I could become a butterfly without being soup!" Alicia announced, standing up and pumping a fist up to the sky. 

"Oh yeah? I'll make you into soup!" Remus pulled his sister into his lap and tickled her mercilessly. 

Alicia's giggles echoed around the park. "N-noo Rem—Remus!" 

——

Alicia had just turned 8 the day Remus found her sobbing her heart out in her room. He'd seen her cry many times before about many things; her outfit not being right, her hair being too long, the time the store was out of her favourite snacks, or when she was struggling to do her school work. None of those times Alicia was as genuinely upset as she was in this moment.

"Leecy?" Remus said.

Alicia spun around, her eyes wide with horror and deep sorrow, before throwing herself face down on the bed and pulling a pillow over her head. Remus could see her shoulders continue to shake with sobs.

"Hey," Remus' eyebrows furrowed and he walked into the room, sitting beside her and resting a hand on her shoulder. "What's going on? Do I hafta kill somebody?"

Alicia's head shook side to side under the pillow, no doubt messing her hair up. This, above all else, made Remus realise his sister was deeply distressed.

"Did you get rejected by someone?" Remus asked. "Alicia?"

Alicia kicked at him wild, sobbing, and angry. "Go away! Get out!"

"Nuh-uh," Remus grabbed Alicia's legs and pulled her closer to him with them. She screamed and threw her pillow at him. Remus tried to stare into her soul and pull out all her sadness with his eyes. "Tell me what's happening, Leecy."

"No! I don't know!"

"Don't know? Don't know what? I'm way older than you, I can help." Remus said confidently.

Alicia kept trying to pull her legs from his grip to kick at him. "You can't! You _don't_ know. Mama said I was being stupid!" 

"It's not stupid if you're this upset!" 

Alicia stopped and stared at him, her tears still falling down her face. "I'm broken. Mama thinks so too." 

"Ex _cuse_ me," Remus pulled her in closer. She didn't fight him, but she didn't help either. It was like dragging around a bag of rice. He sat her up in his lap and wiped his thumbs at the tears still falling from her face. "I'm the only broken one around here. So that means you can't be broken." 

Alicia shook her head and tucked her wet face into his shoulder. "I don't, I'm..." 

"You can tell me anything, Leecy." Remus said, rubbing at her back the way their dad used to. 

"I'm not Leecy. Not Alicia." She blurted, pressing her face harder into his shoulder. 

"Okay." Remus nodded slowly. "Who are you then?" 

"Huh?" She lifted her tear stained face to stare at him. 

"If you're not Alicia, who are you?" 

"I don't... I don't know!" She shouted and slammed her head back into his shoulder hard enough for it to hurt. 

"Alright, alright," Remus backtracked. 

"I'm not. I don't think I'm a girl." She (they?) whispered. 

"I'm not a girl either." Remus said. "We can be not-girls together." 

Wide eyes blinked at him, awe and love blatant. "Really?" 

"Of course!" Remus poked his sibling on the nose. "Now, tell me about yourself. Who am I looking at here?" 

"I, um. I don't know. I'm eight! I like musicals! I like fighting bad guys, and I'm..." little hands clenched Remus' shirt. "I'm a boy." 

"Welcome to the club, little brother!" Remus said. "I like musicals too!" 

"You only like the gross ones." 

"The gross ones are way cooler, Lee—oops. Sorry bro." 

"It's okay." His brother whispered. "I don't have a better name yet." 

"Well, what about this," Remus mused. "Every Disney prince I've seen only likes three things; fighting bad guys, singing a lot, and rescuing damsels in distress. Do you like rescuing people?" 

"Yeah!" 

"Sounds like you're a right prince there." Remus said with a grin. "You're my little prince in training. So you're only prince-ish. A little prince-y. Oh wait that's perfect! Princey. That's who you'll be until we can find you a name that fits you better." 

"Yeah?" Remus' brother smiled. His face was tear-stained and blotchy, but he was smiling again. Relief coursed through Remus like a drug. 

"Yeah! Dry those tears, Princey. Let's go downstairs and you can drink enough water to explode." 

"I'll explode on you!" Princey said, reaching out to poke at Remus' nose. Remus nipped at the finger and Princey pulled it back with a giggle. 

Remus grinned at his brother. "C'mon buttface. Let's get you all cleaned up." 

Princey poked his tongue out at him. 

Remus stood up with Princey in his arms. "Hey, you'll be patient with me right?" 

"I always have to be patient with you." Princey said solemnly. 

Remus snorted. "Brat." 

"Thank you, Remus." 

"Whatever." Remus bounced Princey a little. "You won't be thanking me after we finish watching The Nightmare Before Christmas." 

"Noooo!" Princey wailed dramatically, pretending to die in Remus' arms. 

"No taste," Remus scoffed. "That movie is a masterpiece." 

"It's creepy!" 

"You're wrong." 

"Hey Reem?" Princey said. 

"Come to your senses?" Remus teased. 

"Do you think I'm caterpillar soup now?" 

Remus blinked as he tried to remember what Princey was talking about. He burst into laughter when the memory came back to him. "Yeah, baby brother. You're all soupy now." 

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know if I've said anything that's concerning to you!


End file.
